89 MJ

Gotta love seeing an MJ being used more like a truck than most late model trucks!

Wow, Italy, that's cool!

I’m glad the shifter is in the same spot, that was one of my concerns when I go to 5 speed swap my car.

Got the front Ranchos in tonight. The Jeep feels a lot more planted on the roads. Sway bar disconnects this weekend or early next week, then I’ll get a report on the dirt. What are people’s thoughts on removing the rear sway bar? I very rarely end up on the interstate.

Let's see some pics and hear more about the truck!

That looks like a super nice car! I'm a sucker for 64-67 A-bodies.

You should be able to send him a PM now. Do you have the VIN for the frame?

Finally installed those rear Rancho shocks. Still need to install the fronts and the sway bar disconnects. Last weekend, there was a ride to Aliso Springs near Gardner Canyon. Nothing difficult, but it was a beautiful trip.

What year is it? That’s a good deal, but an external slave one is better.

I just saw that yesterday too. I was happy to see it. It would be great for someone who hits trails regularly or tows regularly, but also likes the interstate.

I figured that was probably the case, thanks for confirming

I'm seeing a 33.5 having 602 revs/mile and a 35 having 576 revs/mile on your site. Did you use the actual measurement of a particular 35? At 33.5s, I think I'd stick with 4.10s. For a 35, 4.56s would be my vote.

I do not believe that you have to remove the engine to change the RMS on a 4.0, regardless of engine. Where are you finding that the rebuild for the AX-15 will be $700? Or is that figuring the initial purchase of one that needs a rebuild? I'm seeing rebuild kits for $350. That is assuming that you have the AX-15 crossmember already and that you're clutch and flywheel are in good shape. I would also only do an external slave AX-15 swap, as the internal slave cylinders don't seem to be made well anymore. How do you use the truck? If you do a lot of towing and hauling or like to drive the truck like a sports car, it would be worthwhile to swap to the AX-15. If you just casually cruise around in the truck and don't really use it for truck stuff often, the BA10/5 will do just fine. In fact, my BA10/5 was a much smoother shifting transmission than my rebuilt AX-15 is. How much oil is the truck really leaking? Unless the oil leak is very frustrating to you (I am one of those people that hates leaks) or the clutch is getting oil on it or its causing other problems, you can buy a lot of oil for $700. If the engine also has 220k miles on it, there is a chance that the crank is worn and a new RMS won't completely fix the leak anyways.

If I were on that side of the country, I'd probably be all over this. Matching dash bezel, tilt column, turbines, all the chrome. It would be a beautiful truck restored. I hope the next owner goes that route.

I've done a lot of the easier performance mods you can do to a Renix 4.0. I have 4.10 gears with 31" tires as well as a 4.0 and a 5 speed, which I think HO header HO head (actually a whole HO long block, but bottom end differences are negligible) Bored throttle body 4 hole injectors High altitude CPS The big one I have not done is the horseshoe intake swap. Having spent hundreds trying to hop up the 4.0, I can confidently say that they did not add 20 hp to my truck. I would like to do the horseshoe intake at some point so that it will match the intake runners in the HO cylinder head better, but I highly doubt it will add a noticeable difference. If I could do it all again, rather than swap my truck's original rod-knocking Renix 4.0 for a good, low mileage HO 4.0, I should've swapped to an LS and had the power level I was happy with and (likely) better fuel economy.

So at what point does this go from a refurb to a full blown nut and bolt resto?

Is one of those screws a wood screw?

The method is a bit crude and you feel bad pound a socket on, but it does provide pretty good results. Crazy that you had to go down to a 10mm!

I've had good luck pounding a slightly smaller 6 point socket over the rust bolts and getting them out.

Looks great! Admittedly, I wasn't sure about the gray at first. With the slight blue hue, polished turbines, and black stripes, it all came together very nicely.

This pic right here is money! I love the iterations that this truck has gone through over the decades

October 2026 - @neohic’s 88 Eliminator Build Thread- Year/Model - 1988 Eliminator Drivetrain- 4.6L Stroker Ceramic-coated header 2.5” exhaust Match-ported everything NP242 Cooling- Open system with three core brass radiator High flow water pump Auxiliary later XJ 10 blade fan Electrical/Ignition- Stock Suspension/Steering- Stock steering NOS Archer Brothers Racing SCCA suspension Bilstein shocks Fiberglass monoleaf leafsprings Custom tubular control arms Custom track bar Interior- Mostly stock All stainless t-case shifter A pillar gauges Brakes- '94 ZJ disks/drums Proportioning valve delete Lighting- Hella 500FF driving lights Exterior- Single stage Jeep Flash Red paint Too much bed liner NOS Archer Brothers Racing SCCA front spoiler Wheel & Tires- 15" ARE wheels 235/60r15 Mastercraft Avenger GTs Misc- I have owned this little truck for over 21 years now! Previous MJOTM: November, 2010 Best MJ story- My best MJ story is a continuation from my last appearance as MJOTM. This little truck has been a part of my life for over twenty one years now. Shortly after purchasing the truck I started school and immediately started tinkering on it. I'd work on it after school in the evenings. Originally it was lifted with junkyard parts and custom made shackles to level it out. Then I bought a junk XJ as a donor and did the 4wd swap over spring break and added 31s. Almost a year after I was done with school, the project grew into an engine rebuild and some bodywork… then it sat for too long. Over the next couple years it got moved between my uncle's barn and my cousin's cold storage until I bough my first house and built my first shop. It got painted, the axles got swapped around, and overall it turned out to be a clean little truck that did truck stuff from time to time. Then I took it apart again! I love that I've never did anything completely permanent to it. Every modification I've done has always been made to be bolt in to leave the chassis side alone. This truck has been a HUGE part of my life. I’ve changed and grew up, and my truck changed and grew with me. I've moved across Minnesota and then I moved across the country but it was never left behind. My life has had a ton of unique experiences, and my truck has always been there for me. Every time I sit in my truck is brings me right back to 2005. CC is Awesome! Why? CC is awesome because, at this point, I've grown up with it. I've been poking around here for twenty years now! CC is a part of my daily life and routine. Members have come and gone, trucks have been built, modified further, changed hands, and we all love watching. We all come around here to share this common thing that unfortunately had such a short lifetime on the assembly line. I'd like to thank everyone here for keeping this forum alive! Call it a brotherhood, fellowship, society, or clique… we all call it the Comanche Club. 2005-2025: 2026:

Unfortunately, I’m not sure. I do know the high altitude CPS has 5* more timing than a regular.

Do you have a regular CPS or a high altitude CPS? Immediately after the engine swap in my truck, it started doing this and did so for probably 1500 miles or so. At that point, I switched to the high altitude CPS and have had it happen much less, it maybe happens a few times in the first hundred or two hundred miles of pulling the truck out of winter storage, then it gets itself sorted out. My other thought would be that it runs too rich with the current injectors. Do you have a REM? I'd be curious to see what it says for O2 information on deceleration.

I also picked up some shocks from one of the Vail off road guys.